The Absolution Sequence
Dread Cycle
80点相当 Angry Metal Guy
年輩向けメタル系メディア
Angry Metal Guy は、わりとあてにならないとこなのだが
これはそこそこ良かった。
オーストラリア/ タスマニアの
テクニカル・デス・バンド
Stephen Cusato (guitar, vocals), Shaun Hyatt (guitar), Shawn Pybus (vocals), Alex Jamieson (drums, bass), Joe Cooper (bass), Nick Machin (drums)
Tasmania—outside of their famous adorable screaming murder marsupials, I know basically nothing about the island. Recently, though, Tasmania’s The Absolution Sequence seized and held my attention with everything surrounding their debut record, Dread Cycle.1 Sublime cover art by Tasmanian artist Shaun Hyatt. Technical death metal that, according to promo, “balances high-velocity musical prowess with a deeply immersive, atmospheric undertone.” But what’s this? Three guitarists? Two drummers?!2 Is there any hope of hearing a bass guitar on this thing? How big is Dread Cycle really, and are The Absolution Sequence bad enough dudes to hold it all down? I had to know.
To address The Absolution Sequence’s qualifying trait as a tech-death band, I’ll start by stating that Dread Cycle is quite the technical feat. TAS’ three-pronged guitar attack of Stephen Cusato and Steven Mason on rhythm and Luke Tucker on lead deliver all the pressure-cooked heck you’d expect of the sub-genre, spinning busy, knotted riffs that strike and pop at odd times and angles. Hear the gnarly riffage on “This Sordid Miasma” and “Promethean Pilferage” and just soak it in. Rhythmically, drummers Nick Machin and Luke Sanderson deliver mechanically precise blasts and occasional Meshuggah kick-jank (“Ghost Mantra”) while—yes—Alastair Boon’s bass features prominently in arpeggiated leads [“Despotic Ruin (Diet of Worms)”] and popping and plucking beneath the riffs (“Diary of the Emaciated”). These dudes have chops for days, but somehow Dread Cycle is surprisingly reserved. Don’t expect Archspire-scaled showy excess with The Absolution Sequence, as Dread Cycle is the kind of layered technical showcase that’s more than happy to sneak up on you at times.